Currently, there is a need to remove fee indicia, such as stamps, from a sheet, or pane, by hand and affix the same to a target substrate, such as an envelope, by hand. Both the speed of this operation and the accuracy of the stamp affixation placement is limited by human capacity. In some circumstances, the need for precision placement contributes dramatically to the labor time required to affix the stamps to the target substrate.
For example, precise placement of the stamp on the target substrate is desired on philatelic items. Philately, that is stamp collecting, is an extremely popular hobby, recognized by many as the most popular hobby in the world. National postal administrations, as well as private sector companies, create items bearing significant postmarks specifically to appeal to those who participate in stamp collecting. In order to be regarded as collectible quality, the stamps must be affixed precisely in a specific placement on the target substrate.
To meet philatelic standards, stamps are, on the average, manually removed and affixed to the target substrate with precision placement at a rate of 150 stamps per man-hour. In fact, the precision placement contributes significantly to the time requirements. Stamps must by placed in a consistent location on the target substrate, in a specific orientation and, when more than one stamp is to be affixed, they must be grouped in a specific configuration and spaced precisely from one another. The placement surface of the target substrate necessarily varies as well, such as a small envelope, a large document envelope, or a package. This variability contributes to the demands of manual-stamp placement.
In addition to the arena of stamp collecting, other applications exist in which removal of pressure adhesive indicia, delivery labels for example, from sheets or sheets and subsequent precise placement is desirable. An increase in production rate of this process would benefit any high volume delivery service. Precise placement can contribute to the ease and speed of future target substrate processing, such as cancelling of delivery fee indicia and verifying delivery fee amount. Precise placement of labels has aesthetic appeal and can contribute to product marketability and sales.
The application for automated removal, affixation, and canceling of self-adhesive indicia is broader than delivery of goods. Other examples include cigarette packages which are labeled, and then the affixed label is cancelled for tax purposes. Presently, this labeling and cancelling stamp by tax stamp is performed by hand. The invention provided herein could readily be utilized by for such practices improving speed and efficiency of the process.
Accordingly, a need exists to reduce the labor requirements while increasing the speed and accuracy of removing pressure adhesive indicia, such as labels, from backing sheets and precisely affixing the same to a target substrate.